Raphael Alpermann - Bach, Muthel: Keyboard Concertos (2007)

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, founded as an East German cooperative just before the reunification of Germany, brings a strong athleticism to the performances of these two concertos by J.S. Bach and one by Johann Gottfried Müthel. The ensemble takes the fast movements at breakneck speed, which makes for a thrilling ride. There's nothing rigid or mechanistic about the performances, though -- the music has plenty of room to breathe, even at its most urgent moments. Raphael Alpermann is dazzling in the Harpsichord Concerto in D minor, as are fortepianists Zvi Meniker in Bach's triple concerto and Christine Schornsheim in Müthel's concerto. The ensemble also excels in the slow movements; the Adagio movement of the triple concerto magically manages to convey both languor and gentle playfulness. Müthel knew J.S. Bach in the final month's of the older composer's life, but his attractive Keyboard Concerto in B flat major is more closely related to the work of C.P.E. Bach. The sound of Harmonia Mundi's reissue of its 2001 recording is splendid -- crisp, deep, and present.